Rating: 
Summary: No Snoozer
Review: "Sleepyhead" is a well-crafted debut novel with few of the glitches that usually bedevil the neophyte mystery writer. The plot is swift and spare and the story is not over-populated with characters.Detective Inspector Tom Thorne is confronted with a serial killer whose aim is not to "kill" but render his victims powerless to move or speak, yet remain fully conscious. So far, he has had one "success," Allison Willetts, who is under the care of neurologist Anne Coburn. Thorne becomes dead certain he has the killer identified, but has no proof. Things become awkward indeed, when the suspect turns out to be a life-long friend of Dr. Coburn who Thorne is beginning to admire. An unusual literary device has each chapter beginning with the italicized thoughts of Allison, who cannot communicate. You become increasingly fond of this brave and spirited girl with an offbeat sense of humor who is suffering this terrible misfortune. I don't know if I have ever heard of a crime novelist getting his start as a stand-up comic, but Mr. Billingham makes the most of his background by supplying excellent dialogue: "Thorne raised his eyebrows. "Do women still get upset if you ask how old they are?" She plonked an elbow on the table and leaned her chin on the palm of her hand, trying her best to look severe. "This one does." "Sorry" Thorne tried his best to look contrite. "How much do you weigh?" No matter how serious the rest of the book, I had to stop and laugh at the offbeat lines Mr. Billingham fed Thorne. "Sleepyhead" is a fresh inventive debut with a satisfying twist worthy of a veteran.
-sweetmolly-Amazon.com Reviewer
Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic read.
Review: As a devoted reader of the murder mystery/serial killer/ spooky and gruesome crime fiction genre, I only recently learned of this author, and dove right into Sleepyhead. Without reservation, I view this as one of the best books of this genre ever written - it could hold its own among the titans, and stacks up favorably even to the incomparable Ruth Rendell. The device of having the patient-in-coma speak directly to the reader is horrifying and, in my mind, completely unique. Who among us DOESN'T have a fear of exactly that: being trapped, with a completely sane mind, inside a body that doesn't work at all? What would that feel like?
When I learned that Billingham was a standup comic, I could hardly believe it. What must his comedy be like? I wish I knew.
I can truly say that I sat down with this book and did not get up until I had finished it. And it is not a piece of froth that one can easily breeze through - it was just that riveting. I'm now on to Scaredy Cat, Billingham's second book.
Rating:
Summary: Very dark, but very good...
Review: Based on the recommendation of a friend, I picked up Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham from the library. It's a real dark crime "who dun it" with twists that keep you reading to the end.
Detective Inspector Tom Thorne gets involved with a number of murders that are seemingly random until they find a "failed" attempt. The victim who survived is completely paralyzed due to a stroke, and Thorne figures out that she was actually the "success" of the killer. It turns out that the killer is really trying to "liberate" women from their bodies, leaving the only thing he values... their minds. He deliberately induces a stroke by physical manipulation of certain blood vessels, nerves and muscles. Thorne thinks he knows who is doing the killing, but his evidence against him keeps coming up short. The mental games between Thorne and his suspect grow more intense until Thorne is ready to admit defeat. But the story comes to a dramatic end with a final confrontation with a number of lives on the line.
As I mentioned above, the story is very dark. Not only is the subject matter intense (a killer wanting to turn his victims into vegetables, not corpses), but Thorne is a damaged individual with a lot of personal and emotional baggage. The author is English, so there are a number of slang phrases that American readers will have to think about in order to follow the conversation. And even though you think you know who the killer is, you just know there's going to be a twist somewhere.
Well written, and very different.... I look forward to his future work.
Rating: 
Summary: Good & Bad
Review: Good: This was an excellent plot, very unique. The book was well written and kept me reading to the end. Bad: As someone else noted it was very British and the terminology, slang, TV shows etc. were unfamiliar which made it a little slow going for me. My main problem was the ending. I found it flat and unsatisfying. But, not bad for a first effort.
Rating:
Summary: decent first novel, nothing more
Review: I bought this book based on the glowing reviews on the cover, but found it fell somewhat short of expectations. Aside from the fact that Billingham has made the goal of the serial killer slightly different than usual, and puts us into the head of an immobilized victim kept on life support, there is really nothing new here. The frequent use of British slang and references to British pop culture may make it a bit difficult for the American reader, though I don't hold it against him. The final chapter *is* heartbreaking, though, and is likely to haunt you far more than the rest of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: decent first novel, nothing more
Review: I bought this book based on the glowing reviews on the cover, but found it fell somewhat short of expectations. Aside from the fact that Billingham has made the goal of the serial killer slightly different than usual, and puts us into the head of an immobilized victim kept on life support, there is really nothing new here. The frequent use of British slang and references to British pop culture may make it a bit difficult for the American reader, though I don't hold it against him. The final chapter *is* heartbreaking, though, and is likely to haunt you far more than the rest of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: An OK novel
Review: I personally thought it was kind of middle of the road. It's true that 'Sleepyhead' is an easy read, the writing wasn't particularly spectacular. I liked the usage of British vernacular and pop culture references. I am a little bias because references were made about places that I have actually visited in London. I guess my main gripe is that the writing was a bit too simple. I liked Thorne's character and the 'internal' dialog of Alison Wiletts. With that said, I would still consider reading other works by Billingham, I wasn't completely discouraged.
Rating:
Summary: Another fantastic debut.
Review: Mark Billingham, Sleepyhead (Avon, 2001) What is it about British mystery authors cranking out excellent first novels? Nicci French, Mo Hayder, and Minette Walters have all waltzed down the pike in the last decade and taken the world by storm. Now you can add Mark Billingham to the list. Billingham's first novel, Sleepyhead, is about a truly twisted individual, even more twisted than Hayder's birdman-this one's dead bodies are failed experiments. What he's really after, he gets in Alison Willetts, a girl who is mysteriously left at a hospital suffering from what is known as locked-in syndrome, a type of stroke that leaves the victim fully conscious, but paralyzed and unable to communicate. The police find an ever-growing string of bodies as the killer attempts to duplicate his handiwork. Very well-paced for a book of its length, and very readable. Billingham knows where to put all the twists and turns. The characters are a little more wooden than one would expect, and a bit more predictable, but then mystery readers have been spoiled recently. (Odd, because Billingham has one of his characters remark early on that he doesn't fir the policeman-on-television stereotype; perhaps we're just used to that these days?) Still, this is a fast, fun read with some excellent twists. *** ½
Rating:
Summary: Lose the coma dialogue and it gets 4 stars.
Review: No doubt at all that this book should freak you out, or scare you at the least. The idea of a nut running around and not wanting to kill you, but to throw you into a coma is pretty whacked. The opening dialogues before each chapter where the coma victim is talking, we're hearing her thoughts while she's in this state the killer has put her in, should have been deleted. It's cheesy and takes away from the storyline, I think. It's worth the chunk of change to read and have a nightmare or two, but here's another one that I would pass on to someone else or a used book sale. Great thriller/horrors that are worth keeping in the bookshelf, are hard to come by these days. Worth the read, but not worth reading more than once. The killer will freak you out though, good descriptions that make you glad it's just a book and the guy isn't stalking your neighborhood. 3 STAR RATING FROM SCRAGGY'S TOMB OF HORROR, USA.
Rating:
Summary: none
Review: Not only does 'Sleepyhead' put Billingham at the forefront of the best British crime novelists, he's out to conquer America with this brilliantly dark and disturbing debut novel...! Gary S. Potter Author/Poet
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